Welcome to the UConn Arboretum Committee

Our Mission

The Arboretum Committee (AC) helps to protect, promote, catalogue and manage the most spectacular natural resources
on the Storrs Campus, the trees and shrubs.

History

The AC was founded in the mid-80s, building on the concept of the 'campus as arboretum' first developed by horticulture
professor Alfred G. Gulley in 1894, by David Schroeder (Natural Resources Management and Engineering, now called Natural
Resources and the Environment) and Gregory Anderson (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology). It emanated from the deep
interest of Faculty (notably Ed Corbett, Carol Auer, Mark Brand, Kristen Schwab) and Staff (particularly Bryan Krystof,
Pat Zugerber-Meisterling and Les Mehrhoff) in cataloguing and protecting the trees and shrubs on campus. Krystof and
Zugerber-Meisterling successfully got the UConn Storrs campus arboretum included on the list of nationally recognized
arboreta and botanic gardens. The AC grew steadily with interested parties from across campus joining the effort. It
received codified formal recognition in 2005 via a MOU with the Buildings and Grounds Committee, on behalf of the
Provost– to whom the Committee initially reported. Subsequently, in 2010, the reporting line was transferred to the
office of the Chief Operating Officer, where the MOU was reaffirmed via email correspondence. As of 2011, the AC has
expanded to over 30 persons, including three undergraduate students and three graduate students. The AC is currently
managed by Mark Brand (Plant Science and Landscape Architecture) and Greg Anderson, working closely with Eileen McHugh
in AES, and several colleagues within the Landscaping Department (which is within Facilities Operations).